Wright City softball coach Fred Ross had few complaints following his team’s 10-2 thumping of Van-Far in the season opener on Tuesday.

The Wildcats didn’t fall short in many areas during an error-free performance. 

“I told them to think of two things they did positively and two things they can work on,” said coach Fred Ross.

Wright City has made a ritual of debuting on a strong note, having dominated in its last three season openers.

“I thought we played really well,” said Ross. “We did a lot of things positively. We moved some runners over, threw to the correct base. The talk and communication was really good.”

Senior Katelyn Christopher held command on the mound, and the Wildcats filtered hits throughout the lineup.

She was appreciative of the run support offered up by her teammates.

“It is definitely nice, because I thought I was going to lose it there for a little bit, but they came back for me,” said Christopher.

Wright City jumped out to a 3-0 in the first inning, as senior Jessica Jones led with a hit. Seniors Lacey Davis, Kaelyn Randolph and Christopher each collected RBIs to push the visiting team ahead.

“We weren’t really ready we didn’t think, so it was good for us to come out on top,” said Christopher.

Van-Far countered in the second, opening with a triple and eventually bringing home a pair of runs.

Davis matched that effort in the third, hitting a triple of her own to score Erika Dohrman, who had led off with a single. The Wildcats built on that 4-2 advantage in the fourth.

Catcher Lindsey Stassi opened with a single, while Jones walked. Dorhman came through again, driving in Jones and another run scored on a pass ball to give Wright City a 6-2 edge.

“Lacey had a couple of big RBI hits, and we had hits up and down the lineup,” said Ross. “I was really happy that we put the ball in play. I told them that it was a team win.”

The Wildcats added another run in the fifth, after loading the bases to begin the inning. A pair of walks and a Shelia Stassi hit helped the cause. Paige Ponticello connected on a single to drive in Stassi.

More solid fielding on Van-Far’s part held Wright City scoreless during the sixth inning, but the Wildcats tacked on another three runs before climbing back on the bus.

Stassi and Ponticello both single, with Dohrman cranking out a two RBI double to add the exclamation point to the Wildcats’ debut.

Eight different Wright City players registered hits, with Ponticello and Dorhman each accounting for doubles.

Jones’ journey toward topping her own school single-season hitting record began on a slow note, as she collected just one hit, walking three times.

Ross was content with the defensive effort, which had proved inconsistent at times last season.

“One of our goals was to not make any errors, which is what I’ve been preaching,” said Ross. “Brianna Zumwalt did a real good job at second base for her first varsity game and Paige at third base.”

Christopher says she surprised herself on the mound, striking out five and walking one in somewhat of a test coming back off an injury. She had a rib removed following last season and had been trying to overcome nagging pain from the injury.

“I didn’t think I would get off to a very good start, but I actually did,” said Christopher. “My arm definitely felt better than I thought it was going to.”

“Katelyn threw all her pitches for strikes,” said Christopher. “She did throw a bunch, because they took a lot of deep counts and fought off a lot of pitches. But she looked really good today.”

The Wildcats will compete in the Boonville Tournament on Saturday, before returning home to face Silex at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.